The Westin St. Maarten/St. Martin

Last month Matt and I went away for a few days to celebrate our belated third wedding anniversary. Knowing how much I love a good beach setting (specially as the winter blues start to settle in), I jumped on the opportunity and was ecstatic to receive an invitation from The Westin St Maarten to stay at their resort. The weather forecast was not looking good, but we lucked out with sunny days throughout the entire stay.

Our room was probably twice the size of our tiny NYC apartment. Our suite had a wraparound balcony with views of the pool and the ocean. I was ready to move in. Check out the ocean view above.

The pool view, also from our balcony above.

We spent only three days there, but we were able to see a lot of amazing beaches in that time. Car rentals are absurdly cheap compared to cabs and I highly recommend renting one, even if you just need to get to/from the airport. The Westin is located at a private beach called Dawn Beach, which borders the French side and Oyster Bay. Motor boats and jet skis are not allowed in Dawn Beach, which is the perfect spot for a lazy day, with great views of St Bart’s. The Westin St Maarten is a full service resort that also offers Destination Wedding packages which means you don’t need to do any wedding planning or leave the hotel… ever (you might not even feel like it, anyway). However, if you’re the adventurous type like us, you will find their location extremely convenient to off-the-beaten-path spots. From there you’re a quick 5 minute drive from popular beaches such as the Waikiki, Kakao and Bikini beaches. There, clothing is optional. We landed in the morning and headed to Kakao beach in the afternoon, below. There you can rent a chair and an umbrella, and depending on the bar you choose a few drinks are included in the rental fee.

Each morning we had breakfast at a quaint little French restaurant with amazing views of Oyster Bay. Crepes and chocolate croissants were our morning diet during the stay. Nothing wrong with that 🙂 The roads on the island are mostly paved, but they are very narrow with scarce lighting. We skipped driving at night and had dinner by the pool at the hotel’s restaurant, which was nice and private. The next day we headed to Pinel Island, also in St Martin. It’s a 10 minute drive from The Westin and you can take a ferry for $5 round trip.

See Also

A Moody Christmas Wedding to Remember

Towards the end of the day we made our way back to the Dutch side, to watch the sunset on the beach and the commercial airplanes land on the island. It was surreal being so close to a huge plane as it lands!

On our last day we headed to Petite Cayes beach, a secluded beach a little past Pinel Island. You will need sneakers or hiking boots to cross the rocky shore, but it is oh-so-worth-it. We then headed back to The Westin for our couple’s massage. It was such a great idea scheduling a spa treatment right before we fly back home, I will be doing this more often. Matt and I received the best massage ever. Ask for Heidi and/or Shawna when you book yours, they are amazing! Photo above is Kakao beach.

St Maarten/Sint Martin has honeymoon written all over it. Writing this recap has me daydreaming about it… Did I already mention we’re supposed to get snowed in again today? Yes. Check out The Westin St Maarten for more details.